1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable support surfaces and, more particularly, to such support surfaces as can be selectively attached to various supporting structures. More specifically, the present invention relates to a support surface that is configured to be selectively attachable to circular railings of the type used to form the outer framework for hospital beds.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The twentieth century has been one of profound social and demographic change. Throughout the world, infant and young child mortality has decreased, birth rates have fallen, and life expectancy has significantly increased. There now is a need to provide these longer-lived people with the required psycho-social space to permit them to continue their contribution to and enjoyment of society.
In the world today, some thirty-one countries each have over two million citizens aged 60 and over. Projections now indicate that by the year 2025, upwards of 1.2 billion people will be in this age group--over twice as many as in 1990.
This "graying" of society has been most noticeable in the richer, more economically developed countries. In Europe, for example, approximately 20 percent of the population is now aged over 60. This trend towards "older" societies continues to spread as a result of improved social and economic conditions. By the year 2025, people aged 60 and over in Japan and Singapore could constitute 29% and 27% of those country's populations, respectively. In Sweden, where over 20% of the population is already over age 60, by 2025 it is projected to have increased to a 30% level.
No social and demographic change of this magnitude can occur without, at the same time, provoking new demands and new challenges on society. The coming years will test the capacity of society and its institutions to respond meaningfully to the broad health and social needs of older people. Compounding this "aging" phenomenon is a parallel evolution of the family during this century. Having become smaller, more mobile, and much more independent than extended family networks in the past, the contemporary family has become less able or prepared to care for older relatives.
In addition to familial concerns, the changing face of employment as the next century approaches has brought another set of problems. The elderly are faced with the growing contradiction of being more physically fit for longer than before, but at the same time being confronted with longer years of economic inactivity. There also has been a change in social attitudes toward the elderly. Now seen as being healthier (which for the most part may be true for many elderly), as well as being more mobile and economically independent, the elderly are also thought to be more psychologically able to cope with themselves than previously was believed.
No matter how healthy or autonomous older people appear to be, the fact remains that age brings with it the heightened risk of a variety of degenerate diseases and psycho-social concerns. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, difficulties in hearing and vision, as well as Parkinson and Alzheimer diseases and dementia are all more common in the later years.
While many of these problems are now becoming treatable, they show few signs of being curable. Instead, they are becoming the chronic diseases of modern society, often difficult to manage socially, and ever more costly to manage medically. Additionally, the psycho-social needs of the elderly become more pronounced with age. The need for companionship, the need to feel wanted, and the need for social and emotional support are central themes in the everyday lives of older people.
With hospital stays running at from $800 to $1,400 per day, on average, long term health care for the elderly at hospitals is not an affordable option. Nursing homes have considerably lower fixed costs, $10 per bed instead of approximately $100 per bed for hospitals, and thus nursing homes have become the care facility used for long term elder care. Unfortunately, one way that nursing homes keep the per bed cost low is to minimize staff sizes, which in turn decreases the amount of time the staff can spend on individual patient/resident care.
Nursing home costs are also kept low by minimizing the amount of space allocated to each resident. With many residents suffering impairments that limit their mobility, it becomes increasingly important to locate the paraphernalia of daily life, such as telephones, remote control units, books, glasses, etc., within easy reach of the resident. In many instances, nursing homes are able to provide very little in the way of furnishings besides a bed and adjacent small table area. Surface or counter areas immediately adjacent the bed are at a premium. A need exists for inexpensively providing additional surface area to enable placement of these personal articles within easy reach of the bed-ridden resident.